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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Be proud no longer, Literacy levels fall through the floor among Scottish pupils as John Swinney’s joins the line of totally unsuccessful SNP Education Ministers who have failed to turn round Scottish education, giving up the ‘day job’ to be campaigning for independence is leaving generations of working class Scots destine for no bright future and the scrapheap, this is the SNP’s legacy to Scotland

Dear All

In the past, it was rightly said with some pride that a ‘Scottish’
education was a good one to have, the standard was said to be high.

In modern Scotland, the same cannot be said to be true
anymore, after a decade of SNP failure in education, we have seen literacy
levels drop among Scots pupils. The most important thing that a country can do
is heavily invest in the future of its young people. A short term measure to
bring in skilled people can to make up a shortfall in certain areas but
educating your people is essential.

Scotland hasn’t been educating our young people successfully,
particularly with regard to opportunities for the working class. The SNP have abandoned the concept of an
educated Scottish work force in preference for an increase in immigration.

This policy effectively creates a glass ceiling which traps
many working class Scots in poverty!

This is the reality of SNP Government, Nicola Sturgeon and
the senior leadership have destroyed our education by stupidity and partly by
design. The sad thing about the demise of our education is the loss of so much
potential and hope for many young people. Too many people have bought into the
lie that the SNP stands up for Scotland and that they are doing a good job, the
reality is that the SNP have done and incredibly bad job in many areas.

Some people have been robbed of a future entirely, they don’t
know it yet, but they have already been earmarked for the scrapheap, they won’t
be getting a chance now or in the future. Scotland a country in political flux
is folding in on itself, we are on a road not to independence but to division.

Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy isn’t a better
tomorrow but a legacy of hate.

To be in a country where reading and writing standards among
younger pupils in Scotland have fallen is remarkably third world. Where are the
once proud Scots who could stand up with pride and boast about the value of a
Scottish education?

These days, there is nothing to boost about, nothing at all.

What Scotland needs is a reformed education system which
drives forward attainment, which provides the necessary support so that pupils
who haven’t done well can get the help they need to pull them up to a standard
which offers them life choices. Life choices are important, so many have had
their chances taken away. Right across the board through-out the education
system, many pupils have been failed. The writing performance of young people
in the second year of secondary and the final year of Primary fell between 2012
and 2016. These are the facts, according to the latest Scottish Survey for
Literacy and Numeracy.

The biggest success of the SNP in government has been
failure in all areas of their responsibility and convincing a public that the
blame lies elsewhere, other than where it should, at their door. In one sense Scottish
Labour losing so badly will leave the SNP with no ‘cover’ now. Not that will be
any comfort for Scottish Labour, they are finding out as well that their
abilities have been shown up as lacking, no political party can do without an
educated activist base, this doesn’t mean spoon fed propaganda but people who
are versed in factual knowledge.

ducation Secretary John Swinney admitted the findings are
"not good enough", this is an example of him trying to put across
that a smokescreen that the subtext is underneath things are ‘good enough’ but
they can be better than good. The reality is that Scottish education standards
are bad, and John Swinney who spends the bulk of his time in another portfolio is
unable to turn around education.

John Swinney has no business in education much like Shona
Robison has no business being health minister; both are out of their depth. It
doesn’t take an education or health expert to see why.

Although opponents have branded the results “shameful” and
accused the nationalists of neglecting education to focus on another referendum
which is true, they also must shoulder part of the blame as an opposition.

Where were the private members bills for education reform?

If you don’t know, I will enlighten you, they never existed….
Ever!

Swinney says:

"I want to see standards and attainment improving in
Scottish education."

Is this a hope or is this an aspiration, this bland sentence
by him is why he has no business in education, he should be saying I will drive
up education standards but the reality is tinkering at the edges does not a
plan make.

I have done a whole host of postings which highlight the
need for a new entire system, four tier education which introduces, a new
insert of education provision, ‘community colleges’ run out of schools and
funded by various streams of local, national and business. Community Colleges
would provide additional education provision to various segments of society.
Just as people of all ages, and sex attend a sports centre to get fit,
community colleges would be geared to getting people ‘educational fit’. The
good thing is that people attended would have the desire to learn to better
themselves after some have had a shaky start in education.

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted education is her main priority
in office, the facts show that if this is indeed her main priority should realise
that she needs to outsource for ideas because let’s face it, there isn’t any big
ideas in the Scottish National Party.

The SNP have allowed self interest in their chase for
independence to cloud judgment, they have left a whole generation of kids and
adults to flounder because they cannot get the help they need. In my youth, I
taught at university, although I was a fitness instructor/ personal trainer etc
etc, my pupils were the ‘elite’ of the university gym, they were just trained
up to learn fitness, they were taught to be instructors in their own right. One
day, I passed on a guy who wanted to learn a technique to one of my female
students, afterwards he came back to thank me, not only had he learned the
exercise he had learned something unexpected, the value of tuition. The girl
was one of my first generation students, personally taught by me to think,
analyse and impart knowledge which made a person question.

Years later the University tried to bring forward the same concept
through their graduate teaching assistant programme but it never took off, they
had never learned the subject in the first place, which is why my students were
a port of call for information. One of the stories which I always thought funny
was when a PhD student, international runner on the university graduate
teaching assistant programme asked a female student, ‘why do you go to George
Laird to get taught weight training’, she replied ‘because he is like a proper
instructor’. In fact, it was more than that, I was very good but as well as
that my teaching was taking someone on a journey to learn together, so they
knew at each step of the way, they could be sure that at the end, they knew all
their learning outcomes.

The education system of Scotland will not be fixed by John
Swinney’s ‘reform’ programme because John Swinney doesn’t know beyond the sound
bites prepared for him what the hell he is talking about. And if you don’t know
what the hell you are talking about you cannot fix anything let alone make
improvements.

I agree that the snp record in government is appalling. As you know I am not good at political analysis. However, I did hear one of the TV commentators say, last night, that the snp share of the vote had shrunk to 32%. Do you agree with that? If so, how big a fall in support for the snp is that? Do you see clear evidence that the snp have peaked and are now headed down the other side of the hill?

“I agree that the snp record in government is appalling. As you know I am not good at political analysis. However, I did hear one of the TV commentators say, last night, that the snp share of the vote had shrunk to 32%. Do you agree with that? If so, how big a fall in support for the snp is that?”

The plain answer is that now, some seats that the SNP currently hold are under threat, however, from the Labour point of view, and this is them saying this, so there is a bias, they are saying that they could win Glasgow South West and Glasgow East.

I came across the Evening Times article which says that Labour thinks it can win Glasgow South West and Glasgow East. The Pollok Labour campaign for Holyrood wasn’t great, in fact many commented that it was a ‘shambles’ but I already knew that despite the handicap I did offer suggestions to try and get things done better.

In the main, no one really came to help out of in Pollok CLP circa 230 people which surprised me at the start but not at the end. In the last week, the cllrs obviously were ordered out so they turned up and they did a few street stalls at Govan earlier on as well in the campaign but help wasn't really forthcoming.

Given there was a lack of help, and in 2015, I was told Ian Davidosn had to pay four people to help him out, there is a history of non activism in Pollok Labour CLP. I have commented on the CLP is effectively a shell. So for James Kelly to say Glasgow South West is possible after they lost in 2015 and went from 20k to 13k in votes is beyond me.

The SNP MP does work very hard, albeit in his own self interest. I know this as a fact.The candidate for Labour is Matt Kerr, he wasn't really active for Lamont in a meaningful way, so given all this, and my experience of the anti Labour vote in Pollok, I wonder what methodology was used to work out that a return is possible.

Prior to 2015, the SNP in this area were pegged around the 5K mark with Labour routinely getting around 20k. Then the World turned and the collapse happened for Labour. If there was some evidence of a change in the area, I would have seen it, many people said to me at the polling station they couldn’t bring themselves to vote Labour. A friend over in Ballieston didn’t vote at all as the Labour candidate never attended any hustings, his wife apparently attended them all.

Tells you a story?

“Do you see clear evidence that the snp have peaked and are now headed down the other side of the hill?”

The SNP have peaked, but that doesn’t translate into a return for Labour, but in could spell more success for the Conservatives in their rural target areas and possible in East Renfrewshire. The Tories had a solid 15k vote there in 2010 and I believe in the previous election. Then it dropped to 10k. I see a chance for them to get the seat as the area returned Jackson Carlaw but….. Holyrood votes generally are lower which you know already. Westminster is still seen as the ‘big’ election.

At present, resting up, haven’t came down to a decision on who to campaign for, I am a free agent, Labour forced me to stand as an independent so I am not in a rush to volunteer for them. And certainly not without an agreement in writing, in 2016 after being promised a ticket to the Glasgow count, Johann Lamont renege on a promise to me. I wasn’t angry but she cut off her nose to spite her face, I will not be offering her my services for free if she stands in Pollok again. Her act was deliberate not accidental as I said not angry, however gave her a chance to do right thing, history has been written, and unluckily for her, I don’t forget or forgive.

I'm a teacher. The Curriculum for Excellence (so called) is entirely to blame. No assessment, no rigor, no rote learning, fewer external exams at the senior phase. It's an absolute unmitigated disaster. Originally the brainchild of the Lib/Lab coalition, the SNP have persisted with it for over a decade when it should have been scrapped on day 1.

Corbyn manifesto to promise renationalisation of energy, rail and the post office as well as free tuition in England and Wales. Might some of the far left in Glasgow be tempted back to Labour by this offer?